St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 14b; Widows houses.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 6.  

The kingdom of heaven was at hand and Christ pronounced judgment over the Scribes and the Pharisees.  He made every effort to reach them.  He did everything he could to pull them back from the brink, but they were too far gone to turn back.  They were too caught up in their anger and frustration at Christ to break free from their positions of hatred and fear.

The prophets of the past had called them out to the people.  They spoke the words of God to the leaders and rulers who did not listen.  And so it was the same in the time of the Scribes and the Pharisees.  They would do the same as their forefathers to get rid of those who would call them out to the people.  Christ called them hypocrites:  "Because you devour the houses of widows, praying long prayers."  

This is the time in history to look back on and imagine what it was like to be there with Christ.  Imagine being in his presence, in the presence of the kingdom of heaven that was with him.  And yet from what we can read it was difficult for those who were there, those that did not know him, to experience his presence.  Often he said that this man was blind or this person was cripple for the sake of the disciples and the people that they might believe, that they might see the power of God in him.  And how much of a life altering experience was it for those who were touched by his miracles.

We, today, do not have the luxury of experiencing his miracles as they did then.  Or do we?  We cry and moan to God when we are in pain, when we suffer loss.  We blame him for the loss of our loved ones when they are taken suddenly without cause.  We cry to him of the hardships that we face daily because we are presented with a better life that we wish we could have.  Yet with all our pain and suffering, do we thank him for the little blessings, the little miracles that he gives us daily.  

If we let him he will provide.  If we allow him he will protect.  If we trust him he will secure for us a place of peace in our life today, tomorrow and forever.  And if we learn to love that which he does for us he will call us home to be with him for eternity.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage nd then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ .   The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.

St. Matthew, Chapter 21, verse: 12b, The Money-Changers.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Cleansing of the Temple) Part 2.  

He entered the temple and was inflamed at what he saw, buying and selling, money changers, men practicing deceit and trickery, dishonesty and greed, arrogance and pride.  Instead of prayer and worship, they were practicing evil.  It was as if evil had taken over the house of the Lord.  The people would come to worship their Father were required to purchase gifts for their offerings.  And in the purchasing, the men who sold the items to be sacrificed were practicing deceit cheating the worshippers out of their gifts, stealing from God himself.

Christ saw this.  He was angry.  He was enraged.  He knew that evil had taken over those who were doing the selling.  He saw them.  He cast them out.  For evil can only practice it's sins through man.  It can only influence man to do evil.  And those men had taken over the temple all in the name of making money.   And he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold the doves. 

The people came to worship.  Some had offerings to make.  Others did not, so they had to buy what was sold at the temple.  It was not that these thing were being sold.  It was that they were being sold inside the temple where people came to pray and to worship their father, their creator.  They came to give thanks.   They came to show gratitude to the lord for what he had given them.  They came to receive his blessings. 

Just as we do today, when we go to our lord's house to worship, we come to give praise and worship our Lord for that which he has given us.  We show gratitude and thanks.  For he is the reason that we have the abundance of life today.  We are alive.  We who believe have the promise of salvation.  We who know can see and feel that which is within us.  The spirit lives and he comes to be with us.  He comes to teach us.  He comes to guide us in our daily lives that we do not become evil doers in the world. 

Throw off the old self and take up the new self in Christ.  He will provided for us.  He will delivered us.  He will take us home when the transformation comes.  For he has given us his words to live by, to breathe by, to know by, to see the miracles by his hand in our daily lives.  He is Lord and deliverer.  He is the giver of new life, love eternal.  Come!  Find your peace within and know the truth of who you are in Christ.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage nd then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ .   The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.